The present invention relates generally to kitchen appliances and, more particularly, to a combination toaster/breadbox designed to operate as both a toaster and also as a breadbox within a single enclosure. The present invention also relates to a combined toaster oven/breadbox.
Toasters and toaster ovens are well known and have commonly been utilized for many decades. Similarly, breadboxes, i.e., boxes for storing bread, bagels, etc., have been in use for over a century now. Toasters, toaster ovens and breadboxes come in numerous shapes and sizes and are seen in one form or another in countless homes throughout the world.
Interestingly, breadboxes and toasters, as well as toaster ovens, relate to the same types of food products, namely, bread, bagels and the like. However, these kitchen-type items generally are considered to be unrelated to one another.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a combined toaster breadbox that provides both a toaster and a breadbox within a single enclosure.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combined toaster breadbox that utilizes less space then required by current devices.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a combined toaster breadbox that advantageously maintains the interior of the breadbox storage area at a temperature that is not effected by the heat produced by the toaster section of the combined device.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combined toaster oven breadbox with advantages similar to that of the combined toaster/breadbox of the present invention.
Various other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
In accordance with the present invention, a combination toaster and breadbox includes an enclosure, a toaster having a heating area disposed within the enclosure, and a breadbox having a storage area disposed within the enclosure.
As an aspect of the present invention, the toaster is disposed adjacent to the rear panel of the enclosure, and the breadbox is disposed adjacent to the front panel of the enclosure, and the breadbox includes a door that is disposed within the front panel.
As another aspect of the invention, the enclosure includes a gap between the breadbox and the toaster, and the gap extends fully between the two side panels of the enclosure.
As a further aspect of the invention, a fan is disposed within the gap and the fan draws in cool air from the exterior into the gap.
As a feature of this aspect, each side panel includes venting slots that allow air to flow into and out from the gap.
As another feature of the invention, the gap includes a relatively narrow portion that extends from one side to near the other side, and a relatively wide portion that is disposed adjacent to that other side, and the fan is disposed within the relatively wide portion of the gap.
As a further feature, the gap extends from the enclosure""s top to its bottom along the length of the gap that extends between the two side panels.
As yet another feature, the combination includes a removable tray disposed at the bottom of the enclosure and below both the toaster and the breadbox, and the tray captures items that fall from within both the toaster and the breadbox.
As a feature of this feature, the tray includes a slot that is disposed below the gap so as to allow air to pass through the tray.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a combination toaster oven and breadbox includes an enclosure, a toaster oven disposed within the enclosure and a breadbox having a storage area also disposed within the enclosure.
As an aspect of this embodiment, the breadbox is disposed above the toaster oven within the enclosure, and the enclosure includes a gap disposed between the toaster oven and breadbox to reduce the transfer of heat between the toaster oven and the breadbox.
As another aspect of the invention, the combination toaster oven and breadbox includes a fan disposed within the gap that draws in cool air from the exterior into the gap.
As a further aspect of the invention, a divider panel is disposed between the breadbox and the toaster oven, and spaces are disposed between the divider panel and the toaster oven, and between the divider panel and the breadbox to define first and second gaps, respectively.
As a feature of this aspect, the divider panel extends from one side of the enclosure to a position disposed away from the other side of the enclosure, and the fan is disposed between the divider panel and that other side, and the fan draws in cool air into both the first and second gaps.